Game Show Network combines old and new shows

Game for anythingNetwork combines old and new shows to attract wide audience

MIKE McDANIEL, Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

Published 5:30 am, Monday, August 16, 2004

At GSN, once known as the Game Show Network, the old co-exists with the new, reruns and first-runs are equally welcome -- and the game is always on.

In a 24-hour period, you can catch a show from the '50s (To Tell the Truth), the '60s (Let's Make a Deal), the '70s (Match Game), the '80s (Family Feud), the '90s (Who Wants to Be a Millionaire) and, yes, the present (Extreme Dodgeball).

Not surprisingly, the audience of GSN is all over the map. The vintage shows attract baby boomers, while the newer fare draws a younger audience.

All are welcome at GSN, which today it prefers to be known as "the network of games."

"Our vision is to become the network for games in the way that Comedy Central is the network for comedy," says Rich Cronin, president and CEO.

The name change signals Cronin's desire to expand GSN's reach. By producing new shows and mixing in second runs of off-network fare like Dog Eat Dog and Average Joe -- so-called reality shows that have a game element -- GSN hopes to reach younger viewers, the audience most attractive to advertisers.

"We think broadening beyond game shows -- keeping game shows but adding other types of shows that are game-related -- will really help," Cronin said.

The strategy is beginning to take off. New creations like Celebrity Blackjack and Extreme Dodgeball, as well as second-run syndicated fare like Street Smarts, are drawing young people.

"We segued into Celebrity Blackjack, and we're going to do more Celebrity Blackjacks and more blackjack games. They really popped for us."

Likewise, Extreme Dodgeball "really resonated with our audience and brought a lot of younger viewers to our network," she said.

Kaplan defines "really well" as more viewers, more younger viewers and more male viewers.

"We are a female-skewing network," she said. "What we've seen with Celebrity Blackjack and Extreme Dodgeball is more of a balance of the male-female viewer."

At the same time, GSN wants to hold onto the audience it has.

"Older shows are going to skew a little older (in the ratings), but they're still part of what we're doing, they're still on our schedule," said Kaplan. "When it comes to game shows, we've got everything."

And old shows can be cool "in a retro-chic kind of way," says Kevin Belinkoff, GSN's vice president of programming.

"Match Game has always done very well for us," he said. "It's got the exposed light bulbs and Charles Nelson Reilly. Let's Make a Deal is always a lot of fun. We have the Family Feud with Richard Dawson and the one with Ray Combs, shows where everybody knows `Good answer!' and `Survey says.' They're kind of icons.

"They find a young audience, not as young as our original programming, but they're good TV shows and good solid games. You can't watch Family Feud and not yell at the screen."

For vintage nostalgia, check out GSN's 3 a.m. lineup, when shows like What's My Line, To Tell the Truth, Beat the Clock and I've Got a Secret roll in and roll out on an intermittent basis. (Password and What's My Line currently occupy the hour.)

"We've got some of the first shows that were ever on television," said Kaplan. "What's My Line dates back to the early '50s. We're fortunate that Mark Goodson (producer of those shows as well as more recent fare like Family Feud) had the foresight to keep the tapes. A lot of television from the '50s is gone.

"All of these are part of our roots, which we slowly tap," said Kaplan.

But as times and tastes have changed, so has the profile of GSN.

"If you look at the composition of our programming, it's 60 percent game shows and 40 percent other types of games and competition," said Belinkoff.

So, in addition to looking at shows to acquire from other networks, GSN is busy developing new series of its own. One show in development combines pool and billiards.

"Traditionally when pool is shown on TV, it's guys in vests with garter belts on their arms, old-fashioned and old style," said Belinkoff. "But it's actually one of the most popular games with young people in a cool, fun, night-life kind of way. We've found new ways to shoot it and to play it. We have a betting aspect so that it has the competitive strategy and fun of poker with the excitement of billiards and pool."

The show would feature top-ranked amateur pool players facing off.

"They have an opportunity to make a lot of money through challenges and hustling and all things that take place in a pool hall," Belinkoff said.

Also in development for an early 2005 premiere: American Dream Derby, the first reality show in the horse-racing world.

"We've gotten tremendous positive buzz on that," said Belinkoff. "We're going to give a dozen people the opportunity of a lifetime, to get involved in the horse-racing world. People who have never had the financial means or access to trainers and horses get the opportunity to actually own a horse, culminating in a live race, with the owner of the winning horse getting a $250,000 prize, plus the horse."

The dodgeball and blackjack shows are in reruns now, but more episodes of each are being shot. Another show with some buzz, the Canadian import Kenny and Spenny, about two guys who put their brains on hold and bodies on the line in head-to-head competitions, will be back with new episodes in 2005.

"We're excited about developing into these other areas, the casino games, horse racing, reality," said Kaplan. "We feel we have a big horizon in front of us and we're starting to get some traction in different areas."